T
Techno2000
Guest
I get what you are saying, there was a second string bacteria filling in for the Nitrobacter bacteria until it was fully evolved enough to take over its ammonia neutralizing responsibilities .Such an equilibrium likely took a long time to develop, with bacteria settling into different niches, and further specializing as competition increased and conditions changed. Before the cycle developed, toxic ammonia and later nitrite could have been a ceiling on populations, and the excess was an available resource that eventually some organisms specialized in breaking down. They might not even have evolved in symbiosis to begin with. You could have bacteria develop independently to break down ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates in areas where those were common, and only come into such a cycle (with further adaptations and specialization) later after certain biological life started naturally producing waste with ammonia.